Symbolism
by scarletsailor
Summary: Ruby Rose waited long enough for Weiss to find a boyfriend, have a relationship, and break up with said boyfriend. Neptune was nice, but he never bought her flowers. Not like someone else. Flower shop AU


**Symbolism**

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><p><strong>summary: <strong>Ruby Rose waited long enough for Weiss to find a boyfriend, have a relationship, and break up with said boyfriend. Neptune was nice, but he never bought her flowers. Not like someone else. AU  
><strong>words: <strong>1,300+**  
><strong>**A/N:** Most people fall in love with coffee shop AUs. I personally like flower shop AUs.

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><p><strong>August<strong>

It's the ring of the bell that catches her attention, but it's the girl standing in the doorway that knocks her off her feet.

The Blooming Rose flower shop has been passed down the Rose family for seven generations. Ruby's heard the story a million times. Her great-great-whatever grandmother came to America from France and made a life selling flowers. She eventually met a man who bought a dozen roses from her and left them at her doorstep. They married after only a month and they were together for seventy years. It was a story that lulled Ruby to sleep as a child (and it still makes her drool now but for different reasons).

She just didn't anticipate having a similar story.

Ruby's great-great-whatever grandfather had brown hair. The girl standing in the doorway has white hair.

Well, it's almost white. More like platinum blonde. It reminds Ruby of Draco Malfoy, but she immediately shakes the thought from her head when Yang's '_Can I Slytherin?_' pickup lines suddenly returns to her.

"Hi," the girl says with a friendly smile.

"H—Hi!" Ruby jumps a little bit in her enthusiasm and she clears her throat in an attempt to try and regain her composure. "I'm Ruby. How may I help you?" She strides forward to the counter in her fervor, stumbling over a box on the floor and sending a bouquet hanging from the back wall down onto her head. "Ow!"

The girl giggles a little and Ruby's stomach drops. "Could I buy some flowers from you?"

"You can!" Ruby straightens, shaking petals from her hair like a dog after a bath. All of the stories about her great-great-whatever grandparents went into meticulous detail about how beautiful they both were, but Ruby doesn't think they had anything compared to this girl.

"I'm Weiss, by the way."

"Weiss!" Ruby's hand juts out and Weiss shakes it gracefully. "It's nice to meet you."

Weiss nods as a quirk forms at the corner of her mouth. "Likewise."

A moment passes where Ruby just stands smiling at the girl before her until Weiss awkwardly clears her throat. "So," she drawls, "what kind of flowers do you have?"

"Oh!" Shaken from her reverie, Ruby gestures to the wall behind her. It's adorned with color-coordinated flowers arranged in a rainbow pattern hanging from hooks. Hand written labels identify each species of flower.

"Who are these flowers for?"

"My mother," Weiss responds immediately.

"And is there any special message that you want to send to her?" Ruby asks, gesticulating as she starts throwing out examples. "_I love you, You're the best, Please put me in your will_…"

Weiss chuckles softly. "What would you recommend?"

Ruby's eyes light up like fireworks and Weiss knows in that moment that she absolutely _loves_ being asked that question. She ducks down behind the counter and pops back up with a handful of pink flowers. "Carnations," Ruby announces proudly. "Pink symbolizes love of a woman or a mother. These go _real quick_ Mother's Day morning." She lets out a low whistle and shakes her head in disappointment.

Another chuckle.

Ruby bounces on the balls of her feet at the accomplishment.

Weiss's eyes drift back up to the wall. "What do roses mean?"

The question catches Ruby off guard. Most people only thought of red roses and their relation to love. It was not a question that she got often. "It depends," she says. "Yellow roses symbolize friendship and caring. Pink roses convey admiration and joy and gratitude. Black roses mean death." She plucks a flower with petals matching Weiss's hair color from the wall. "And white roses represent purity and innocence. They're ideal for weddings because they also mean new beginnings."

Weiss nods and bites down on her bottom lip as she carefully looks over her choices. "I think I'll take a dozen the pink carnations," she says finally.

"Excellent choice." Ruby tries for a wink that probably looks less smooth in real life than she pictures it being in her head. If Weiss's laugh is any indication, it probably looked ridiculous. Ruby grabs the bouquet and carries it to the cash register. "A dozen pink carnations for one pretty girl."

When they were younger, Yang used to try and coach Ruby on how to be good with girls. She picked up on a few things.

Weiss's eyes narrow in amusement. "How much?"

Ruby waves her hand. "On the house." Her father would kill her, but it's for a good cause.

"How generous of you." Weiss takes the bouquet from her with careful hands. "Thank you so much."

"_Um_," Ruby says abruptly, startling Weiss, "if you could fill out this survey, too, before you go, that…would be great." With ears as red as the tips of her hair, she slides a piece of paper across the counter and slowly returns her hands to her sides.

Weiss raises a single amused eyebrow and takes a pencil into her head. "Okay," she drawls slowly, mindfully watching Ruby out of the corner of her eye. Once the survey is filled out, she sets the pencil down and flashes Ruby one last pearly white smile. "Thank you again."

"It was my pleasure," Ruby says, slightly breathless. "Come back any time."

"Will do." With that, Weiss exits, the ring of the bell hanging over the door echoing in the silence.

As soon as she's gone, Ruby folds the survey up and tucks it into her pocket. _I'm crazy_, she thinks to herself.

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><p><strong>April<strong>

Eight months.

_Eight months_.

Eight months pass before Weiss Schnee hears of Ruby Rose again.

Ruby Rose waited long enough for Weiss to find a boyfriend, have a relationship, and break up with said boyfriend. Neptune was nice, but he never bought her flowers.

Not like someone else.

It's Weiss's birthday when her doorbell rings at exactly noon and she's met at her door with nothing but a bouquet of multi-colored roses. It's too much to hope for, but Weiss has a sneaking suspicion of who they're from and it makes her stomach stir with excitement.

The note card attached reads _The Blooming Rose_ in sophisticated cursive, but written on the back in a messy scrawl is _All of these flowers have different meanings, but together, they mean 'I'm not sure about this, but I know I like you enough to send you flowers.' Happy birthday_.

The flowers go in a vase. She goes to her car.

The Blooming Rose looks exactly the same as it did eight months ago, right down to Ruby Rose seen through the window.

Weiss slowly sneaks inside, wincing at the sound of the bell.

"Hello!" Ruby says, voice muffled from where she was ducked with her heard buried behind the wall of flowers. "I'll be with you in just a minute."

"I think that's a bit unfair, considering you've made me wait eight months already," Weiss says, feigning annoyance.

"Weiss—!" Ruby stands up so abruptly that she knocks her head into a bouquet hanging from the wall, sending it plus three more tumbling down on her. "Ow!"

"I see you haven't changed a bit." Weiss bites down her laughter, strolling behind the counter to help Ruby up. "You're unbelievable."

"Happy birthday," Ruby says breathlessly, puppy dog eyes beaming. She has petals stuck in her hair and a stem protruding from her ear, but she's still adorable.

"You already said that." Weiss pointedly holds up the card that was attached to her bouquet. "You waited eight months _just_ so you could send me flowers on my birthday—that you knew about from the survey you made me fill out, no less—and then you don't even have the decency to ask me out on a date with the card attached."

Fear suddenly rushes through Ruby because, in all those nine months that passed, she hadn't considered much. She flushes deeply and awkwardly rubs at the back of her neck. "Um…"

She's silenced by Weiss's peck to her cheek. "Come on, you dolt," she says, taking Ruby's hand and leading her towards the exit. "You're taking me out to lunch."

"Yes, ma'am." Grinning with elation, Ruby flips the sign hanging from the shop door, changing it from OPEN to CLOSED.

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><p><strong>AN:** I always kinda pictured Ruby being that person to do big, romantic gestures. Favorite and review and all that jazz. Thanks for reading!


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